Californians Are Fleeing The Golden State At An Alarming Rate

Perhaps it's fate. California, named after a mythical island of paradise, as described in a 16th century Spanish novel, may have been too good to last. Whether you blame incredible amounts of immigration [nearly 12 million people in the last 25 years or so into a current population of around 35 million], overcrowding, high taxes, or the most socialistic state government in the country bar none, Californians are leaving at an alarming rate.

Of course, there are those who are taking a more sanguine view. They would argue that there have been plenty of migrations in the US, starting with the general "Manifest Destiny" trend westward, even before that term was coined in 1845. There was much movement of industry out of traditional New England centers starting in the 1920's, and there was significant migration of Southern blacks to the North starting even earlier in the 20th century. Notably, there was much movement to California, spurred first by the Gold Rush, and then by the aircraft boom of World War II, not to mention the mild climate. Relax, they would say. This is just another population shift.

Point well taken. Still, it's cold comfort for those who have grown up here, and have seen the changes first hand. We remember when California public schools were the envy of the nation, and we remember when the Los Angeles Times took an arch-conservative editorial stance. We remember city, county, and state politics before their every aspect was dominated by racial overtones, and we remember when film production actually occurred in Hollywood.

Indeed, the very industry that gave California most of its glamour has all but vanished, leaving behind little more than office towers and historical studio buildings filled with administrative functionaries. What other industries might depart the state? Rather, we should ask what industries have to stay here.

Fortunately, agriculture, the foundation of the state's wealth, will top the list. Mining, fishing, forestry, and their secondary processes would round out those basic endeavors that are intimately tied into the physical geography. The military is well entrenched here, but bases have been known to close. Government has been a major employer, but will be affected by an ever shrinking tax base as industry moves out. Public sector cutbacks are inevitable, as are higher taxes, which will cause more businesses to leave, in a truly vicious circle.

Population-fueled enterprises such as education, health care, and construction will change dramatically. At some point, the state will have to bail out of running its impossibly expensive elementary and secondary school system, embracing, I predict, a voucher model. Publicly funded hospitals will be crushed by the burden of illegal aliens, and as the state loses its middle class, builders will either be erecting large apartment blocks or mansions. There will be scant need for new commercial or industrial development.

Given the disastrous employment prospects, many productive and able bodied young people will continue to leave, further intensifying the basic problems. At that point, the state will be forced to create tax-favored enterprise zones to lure industry back into California, but the long-term benefit of such policies is dubious at best. New Hampshire, to name one state, has shown that the most splendid "gimmick" is to have no gimmick at all. Just keep taxes low, workers educated, and the environment favorable for business.

But this precept is lost on an arrogant and despotic Leftist leadership class, that ultimately survives based only on the ignorance and naïveté of the have-nots, and the desperate guilt of so many of the haves.

© Copyright 2003 — This report, is submitted by the writer for publication exclusively in Toogood Reports, but remains the property of its author and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the writer's express prior written consent. The opinions and facts expressed herein are those of the writer alone, who is solely responsible for its contents, and does not purport in any way to represent Toogood Reports, its owners or its management.

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Since you don't believe anything that I say, what's the point in my responding?

All I can say is that I lived it, I lived in the apartment complex where my neighbors were crammed 8-10 in a one bedroom. They were all still there when I left. The apartment manager expressed her dismay at having to keep them, but the owners didn't want the legal battle of evicting all of them. I already told you the areas where I've lived in California, but since you didn't bother to read it before, I'm not going to post them again. I think it's really sad that you can post a line by line response, yet somehow not read most of what I have posted.

How did I know that multiple families were living in houses around us? I lived next to them...I asked them. You don't. You live in Central California, right? Somewhere far removed from LA, anyway. If you haven't lived it, don't tell me that it could never have happened. No, we didn't sell our house for $375,000. Why is that so hard to believe? Since you seem to doubt every single thing I say, what's the point in even having any kind of conversation? Call me a liar, but no matter how many times you say it, I still won't be. Everything that I said has been personally experienced by me, from illegals' wages to converted garages to dj'd parties at 4:00 in the morning.

You never did say what cushioned, segregated enclave you live in, Joe. Gee, I wonder why you've never experienced crime? Could it be that you, like my parents, bought your home long ago when dinosaurs still roamed the earth? They're in a nice situation in California, too. At least until the have-nots start eyeing what they've got and do away with Prop 13. If BustaMecha gets in, they're probably going to leave, too.

FYI, I was born and raised in Southern California. So were my parents. I spent my whole life there, went to college in California, everything. My whole family is there. I thank God my parents took me on vacations to other states so that I could see that things are not the same everywhere. We agonized over leaving the state we both had called home for our entire lives, but we knew and had seen for ourselves that it could be different outside of California. Our quality of life has improved drastically since leaving, and I am really glad we left. I feel truly sorry for anyone in a similar situation to ours who is scared to leave the state. I will shout it from the rooftops...It's NOT the same no matter where you go. It isn't the same for us. It's different. And it's *better*.

As to illegals following me to Indiana...I will take a few carloads here over the masses swarming in to California.

By the way, I am not a guy. I know I have mentioned that I have a husband before. Of course, since you don't actually bother to read most of my posts, you wouldn't have caught that.

I feel I know apartment life in southern California as well as anyone and you are wrong.

I know that you don't know it as well as I do, at least not in the poorer areas, since I lived there, with them, for a year and a half before I escaped. I was just out of college and didn't know much about renting an apartment. It wasn't only my apartment, either, it was all around. The management lady complained to me about how she couldn't get them out without 6 months of court battles. The school I taught at was originally built for 400. There were 1200 students at the school. And there were no busses. Not one child was bussed. Do you know how far elementary school kids walk in LAUSD. It's less than a mile. So, in Van Nuys, in a square mile, there were 1200 school aged kids. This was not a high-rise area, the apartments are all those small 1960's style things with the big courtyards and stuff. I asked my students how they lived. Almost all lived with at least 6-8 people in their apartment (max was 10), and I know that most of the apartments in that area were one bedrooms, since I looked at them. My students did not get evicted throughout the school year, so evidently my own property manager's frustration at being stuck with the crowding was not unique.

Maybe you have apartment experiences in better areas? Even a few miles can matter a lot. Van Nuys/Tarzana is not considered terrible...it's not downtown. Canoga Park and Reseda are worse. Woodland Hills is right next door, yet nicer and didn't have the same crowding problems as the other cities, mostly. It was also a third more for rent there, which was why I did not live there.

I will shout it from the rooftops...It's NOT the same no matter where you go.

Relax, I truly enjoy your drama and exaggerations. Take a deep breath, and feel safe in Indiana.....Don't worry, we'll hold off the hords here and keep the rest of the country safe. It's OK.

Take care. :o

The point is that what you see in Van Nuys is the exception rather than the rule. Sure, there's the Van Nuys (Canoga Park/Reseda was actually pretty OK based on visiting people I know in the area) experience, much like there is the Santa Ana experience or the "Gateway Cities" experience (a broad swath from Huntington Park to Norwalk, with all the little corrupt cities).

But contrary to popular belief, the majority of houses being sold to people today are being occupied by single families. Some neighborhoods, like mine, are actually gentrifying, meaning that home prices are going up and better educated, wealthier people are moving in. And I live out in the Inland Empire.

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